News Releases

SCE Starts Infrastructure Work in Santa Barbara

ROSEMEAD, Calif., Jan. 29, 2015 — To ensure continued reliable electric service, Southern California Edison (SCE) will begin infrastructure-improvement work this year to upgrade distribution circuits that serve parts of Santa Barbara. A number of projects have been planned for this year with many targeting downtown Santa Barbara.

The first of these projects will take place early Friday morning near Castillo Street and West Cabrillo Boulevard near the Santa Barbara Harbor and across the street from Santa Barbara City College. Buried underground switches will be installed, which allow the utility to energize and de-energize segments of circuits. It also lets SCE crews perform grid maintenance safely and helps isolate and minimize any potential repair outages to a smaller area.

Rondi Guthrie, Public Affairs region manager for Santa Barbara, said SCE recognizes its responsibility to keep the lights on.

“Upgrading the circuits in Santa Barbara will help minimize the likelihood of unanticipated and extended outages,” said Guthrie. “We’re not only improving reliability, but building a smarter grid that can handle the needs of customers for decades to come.”

SCE is amid a multiyear, multibillion dollar investment plan to strengthen its territory-wide distribution grid, which serves nearly 14 million people. The work in Santa Barbara is only one of many infrastructure-improvement projects that will take place.

SCE will provide the latest information about outages at its website and on Twitter.

About Southern California Edison

An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.